What to do with your old Android phone before selling it

[johnypowas]

Android
Lexy Savvides/CNET
If the phone or tablet runs 5.0 Lollipop or later it may have Android device protection or factory reset protection (FRP) active. This feature makes the phone unusable by a new owner if it's been reset because they can't activate it without entering a previously used Google account and password.
You'll need to deactivate FRP if you plan to sell the device or transfer to another owner.
Skip straight to step 4 if you have a device running an earlier version of Android without FRP.
Step 1: First, turn off any screen locks. Go to Settings > Security or Lock Screen Security > Screen Lock and change the type to None.
Step 2: Remove your Google account from the device. Go to Settings > Users and Accounts, tap your account and then remove.
Step 3: If you have a Samsung device, remove your Samsung account from the phone or tablet as well.
Step 4: Now you can wipe the device with a factory reset. However, this often only clears data at the application level, and other information such as SMS and chat messages can be restored with some standard data recovery tools.
Here is a full rundown on how to effectively wipe data on your Android phone or tablet, which begins with encrypting your device first through the Settings menu.


You won't need any special tools, just a bit more patience than it takes to simply press the restore option within the settings. Note: devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or above may be encrypted by default.